As soon as the Nuggets were eliminated by the Timberwolves, all of the focus shifted to what the team can do to improve and get back in contention next season. Since winning it all in 2023, the team has lost one key contributor after another, and they’ve gone home in the second round, the second round, and the first round this season.
The core clearly isn’t good enough anymore despite Nikola Jokic’s brilliance, but the longer these playoffs continue, the clearer it’s becoming that there’s no clear path to upgrading any time soon.Â
The problem has been badly accentuated by watching the Thunder and Spurs, seeing how far they are above the rest of the West, and realizing how well set up they are for the future. With deep rosters, cap flexibility, young stars, and tons of future picks, OKC and San Antonio are only going to get better and could conceivably dominate the conference for years to come.
Unfortunately, that means the Nuggets are going to have to get massively better, or get some great luck, if they want to win another title in the Jokic era. And frankly, given their past sins in roster building and the position they’re now stuck in, it’s hard to imagine that happening.
Nuggets best path may be soft rebuild
As crazy as it may sound, the best path forward may be taking a step back, even in the heart of Jokic’s prime. The team needs to shed money, and will likely have to salary-dump at least one starter. There’s also a good chance they lose Peyton Watson, maybe even for nothing. The Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon trio isn’t good enough, but it’s hard to imagine either Murray or AG can return enough on the trade market to merit a tangible immediate upgrade.
Sadly, the smart move may be to reset as much as possible. Move on from Murray and Gordon, dump Cam Johnson, let the veteran free agents walk, and try to come back with Jokic, Watson, Christian Braun, and hopefully a bunch of young players and draft picks.
That’s a tough pill to swallow, and would be, by far, the greatest test of Jokic’s loyalty to Denver. But it would give them a realistic path forward and a chance to shrewdly and wisely rebuild the team in a year or two. The hope has to be that Jokic ages gracefully into a later version of his prime that still allows him to be a top 5-10 player, Watson emerges into a star, Braun bounces back to (at least) a solid role player, and they use the newfound assets from trading Murray and AG to establish a young core that fits around the Joker.
That might seem insane, but is it really crazier than expecting this team to bounce back around this big three? Or to turn Murray and Gordon into better win-now players? The truth is often unkind, and unfortunately, I think that may be the case, and one that the Nuggets’ front office and ownership may be forced to accept sooner rather than later.
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